Director and Founder of Dynamic Thought consulting, Dr Ineka Whiteman (married name Ineka van Zyl) is a neuroscientist with 20 years international training and experience in brain research, including studies at the University of Oxford, UK. With a PhD in Medicine specialising in neurobiology of dementia and other neurological disease, Ineka’s award-winning research has been published in numerous international peer-reviewed medical journals and invited for presentation at scientific conferences world-wide.
Ineka’s passion for teaching and communicating the science of the brain and mind has led her to work with a wide variety of organisations and audiences. Among these, she has held university teaching positions, liaison roles to Federal Government Ministers, sat on the Board of Science and Technology Australia, consulted within the National Rugby League (NRL) and held senior Medical Affairs roles in Pfizer, one of the world’s leading biopharmaceutical companies.
Ineka currently serves as Head of Research and Medical Affairs for the international non-profit organisations BDSRA Foundation (USA) and Batten Disease Support & Research Association Australia, patient advocacy organisations for the rare children’s brain disorder known as Batten disease, or neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL). She is also Principal Scientific Consultant at the Beyond Batten Disease Foundation (USA), and advisor to the Childhood Dementia Support team at Dementia Support Australia.
Alongside her academic and corporate experience, Ineka is an accomplished athlete having gained Australian national rankings and an ‘Oxford Blue’ in swimming, captained the Oxford University Blues Women’s Swimming Team and the Balliol College (Oxford University) Women’s 1st VIII Rowing Team.
In 2022, Ineka launched her first book ‘Max and Abby’, an illustrated children’s book about Batten disease, childhood dementia and the rollercoaster journey of life as a sibling of a child with additional needs.
Regularly invited to speak to corporate organisations, non-profits, schools and churches, Ineka is an engaging, authentic and passionate communicator, with a heart for empowering others to live well, think well and transform their lives.
Ineka lives on the Sunshine Coast QLD Australia, with her husband Branden and their two children.
UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
University of Oxford (Balliol College), UK
2003-2004
University of Sydney, Australia
2005-2007
Bachelor of Science (Neuroscience) with First Class Honours, graduating with McAvoy Prize for Most Outstanding Overall Performance in Honours
University of Sydney, Australia
2007-2011
Colorado State University, USA
2010, as Visiting Scholar
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Medicine
ACADEMIC AWARDS
John Irvine Hunter Research Prize
2010 Winner, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney
Dean’s Research Student Publication Prize
2010 Highly Commended, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney
McAvoy Prize for Most Outstanding Overall Performance in Honours
2007 Discipline of Anatomy & Histology, University of Sydney
Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience Prize
(First in Advanced Neuroscience) 2005 University of Sydney
sporting aCHIEVEMENTS
Oxford Blue (Swimming) and Team Captain
University of Oxford Women’s Swimming Team
2003-2004
Women’s 1st VIII Rowing Team Captain
Balliol College, University of Oxford
2003-2004
Australian National Swimming Championships
Competitor 1996, 1997, 1998
SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS
Clinical experience with measuring apixaban exposure in Australia (2015) Lebret, S, Whiteman, IT and Thomas, GR. Australian Journal of Medical Science 36(4): 100-104.
Apixaban and patient management following stroke/TIA: a consensus guide (2015) Levi, C. R., Campbell, B. C. V., Lindley, R. I., Nandurkar, H., Parsons, M. W., Hankey, G. International Journal of Stroke: 10:83-83 (manuscript conceived, coordinated and co-written by Whiteman, IT)
Rapid changes in phospho-MAP/tau epitopes during neuronal stress: cofilin-actin rods primarily recruit microtubule binding domain epitopes (2011) Whiteman IT, Minamide LS, Guillemin GJ, Goh DL, Bamburg JR and Goldsbury C. PLoS ONE 6(6): e20878
Redistribution of phosphorylated tau is induced by modulation of the actin cytoskeleton (2010) Whiteman, IT Minamide LS, Bamburg JR and Goldsbury C. Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association 6(4):S156
ADF/cofilin-actin rods in neurodegenerative disease (2010) Bamburg JR, Bernstein BW, Davis RC, Flynn KC, Goldsbury C, Jensen JR, Maloney MT, Marsden IT, Minamide LS, Pak CW, Shaw AE, Whiteman I, Wiggan O. Current Alzheimer Research 7(3):241-50
Activated Actin-Depolymerizing Factor/Cofilin Sequesters Phosphorylated Microtubule-Associated Protein during the Assembly of Alzheimer-Like Neuronal Cytoskeletal Striations (2009) Whiteman IT, Gervasio OL, Cullen KM, Guillemin GJ, Jeong EV, Witting PK, Antao ST, Minamide LS, Bamburg JR and Goldsbury C. Journal of Neuroscience 29(41):12994-13005
Accumulation of microtubule-associated protein in striated neurites is induced by mitochondrial dysfunction (2009) Goldsbury C, Bamburg JR, Cullen KM, Guillemin G and Whiteman IT. Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association 5(4)
Oxidative stress increases levels of endogenous amyloid-β peptides secreted from primary chick brain neurons (2008) Goldsbury C, Whiteman IT, Jeong E and Lim YA. Aging Cell 7:771-775
Characterising GABAergic neurons within the human medial mamillary nucleus (2004) Dixon G, Garrick T, Whiteman I, Sarris M, Sithamparanathan S and Harper CG. Neuroscience 127(2): 365-372
PUBLISHED BOOKS + BOOK CHAPTERS (incl. KEY CONTRIBUTIONS)
Max and Abby (2022) A sibling journey with Batten disease and childhood dementia
Ineka Whiteman PhD (author) & Deborah Moore (illustrator); HammondCare & BDSRA Australia; Sydney. ISBN 978-0-645-52519-9
Order via Amazon here.
BPSD Textbook: Addressing behaviours and psychological symptoms of dementia (2022) Cunningham C, Healy M, Macfarlane S, eds. HammondCare; Sydney. ISBN 978-0-6486789-7-7
Chapter 7- Other Dementias by Healy M, Macfarlane, S and Whiteman, I.
Last Drinks: How To Drink Less and Be Your Best (2023) by Maz Compton; John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd. ISBN 978-1-394-18423-1
GOD and Me (2022) by Bill Abbenbroek; InHouse Publishing; Australia. ISBN 978-1-922839-31-2
selected conference ABSTRACTS
Pain characteristics in childhood dementia: Data from Dementia Support Australia (2022) Atee M, Morris T, Whiteman I, Dowse H. Australian Paediatric Palliative Care Conference 2022
Childhood dementia: A bravery unknown (2022) Whiteman, IT, Donnel M and Nevinne S. International Dementia Conference IDC2022, Sydney.
Childhood dementia: the confronting reality of rare paediatric neurological disease (2020) Whiteman, IT. International Dementia Conference
The Neuroscience of Anxiety (2020) Whiteman, IT. Scripture Union QLD Annual Professional Development Conference
The role of speech pathologists in early detection of Late-Infantile Batten Disease (Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses Type 2, CLN2) (2020), Tilbrook, L and Whiteman, IT. Speech Pathology Australia Annual Meeting
Apixaban and patient management following stroke/TIA: a consensus guide (2015) Levi, CR., et al. Stroke. Melbourne. (paper conceived, coordinated and co-written by Whiteman, IT)
Alzheimer’s disease: Energy crisis in ageing cells is linked to initiation of key pathologies (2011) Whiteman, IT. et al. National Dementia Research Forum, Sydney.
Mitochondrial inhibition induces Alzheimer-like redistribution of phosphorylated tau epitopes (2011) Whiteman, IT. et al. Australian Neuroscience Society Annual Meeting. Auckland, New Zealand.
ADF/cofilin-actin rods and synaptic loss in Alzheimer’s disease (2010) Bamburg JR, Bernstein BW, Davis RC, Goldsbury C, Maloney MT, Marsden IT, Minamide LS, Pak CW, Perry G, Podlisny MB, Selkoe DJ, Shaw AE, Siedlak SL, Whiteman IT. International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease. Honolulu, USA.
Redistribution of phosphorylated tau is induced by modulation of the actin cytoskeleton (2010) Whiteman IT, et al. International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease. Honolulu, USA.
Accumulation of microtubule-associated protein in striated neurites is induced by mitochondrial dysfunction (2009) Goldsbury C, Bamburg JR, Cullen KM, Guillemin GJ, Minamide LS and Whiteman IT. International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease. Vienna, Austria.
The pathobiology of cofilin in neuronal stress and Alzheimer’s disease (2009) JR Bamburg, BW Bernstein, GM Bokoch, RC Davis, KC Flynn, C Goldsbury, T Huang, MT Maloney, LS Minamide, AE Shaw, IT Whiteman. Keystone Symposium on Molecular and Cellular Biology. Colorado, USA.
Mitochondrial dysfunction triggers neuronal Alzheimer-like cytoskeletal striations containing phosphorylated microtubule-associated protein tau and actin (2009) Whiteman IT, et al. Australian Neuroscience Society Annual Meeting. Canberra.
Striated neurites containing phosphorylated tau and actin are induced by energy depletion: a potential mechanism in Alzheimer’s disease (2008) Whiteman, IT, et al. Society for Neuroscience (USA) Annual Meeting. Washington DC.
Roles of oxidative stress and energy deprivation in modulating Alzheimer’s Disease-associated proteins (2008) Goldsbury C, Lim YA and Whiteman IT. Australian Neuroscience Society Annual Meeting. Hobart.
Recapitulation of sporadic Pick's disease in a novel tau transgenic mouse (2007) Whiteman IT, Ittner LM, Ke Y and Gotz J. International Conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease. Salzburg, Austria.
Parkinsonism in tau transgenic mice (2007) Ittner LM, Fath T, Whiteman IT, Ke Y and Gotz J. International Conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease. Salzburg, Austria.
OTHER key contributions
THEMA Consulting Report (2020). Childhood dementia in Australia: quantifying the burden on patients, carers, the healthcare system and our society. A health economics study; the Childhood Dementia Initiative
Childhood Dementia: the case for urgent action (2020); white paper by the Childhood Dementia Initiative